Chopper the Blue-Nosed Reindeer
by OfSoundMind
Summary: Luffy is infamously known for having an endless appetite, and has made a mortal enemy (a.k.a Sanji) due to his Midnight Feasts. Well on a normal night of foraging for food from the kitchen, Luffy gained an unexpected guest and more than he bargained for.


**Chopper the Blue-Nosed Reindeer. **

Okay guys, here's my next story! Sorry I haven't updated in a while, just haven't had any inspiration for any stories. Was supposed to upload this at Christmas…you can see I failed to do that ^^" Hope you enjoy this story :D:D  
Disclaimer: I do not own anything of One Piece. All rights belong to Eiichiro Oda…Lucky Bastard ¬_¬

xXx

_'Just...a little m-more, and it will be mine!'_

Monkey. , a young pirate who had eaten the Gomu Gomu no Mi and gained the powers of a rubberman, was once again abusing the powers that the Fruit had blessed him with...all in the name of a blackhole called STOMACH.  
His left hand had stretched little by little away from his body and towards the fridge handle, in the hopes that it would help free him from the giant mousetrap his fellow limbs were ensnared in.

_'Usopp, you damn bastard for helping that rotten cook, all for the sake of a little chilli powder for your stupid bomb thingys!'_ Luffy cursed in his simple mind as he swore revenge, but as his hand grasped the handle, all thoughts of revenge flew from his head and were replaced with...meat **-(You already knew that didn't you? ;P) **_  
__'Yosh, here I go. Ich, ni, SAN!'_ Holding onto the handle tightly, Luffy released the spring of the trap and his body flew through the air and straight into the fridge.

**BANG! **

**"ITTE-" **

Not wanting to wake his most likely irritable crew, Luffy clapped his hand over his mouth to stop from screaming out at the large bump now forming on his head. "Ahh, that was a handful", he sighed as he rubbed his sore head fervently. "Sanji's getting better at this. Let's see..." Using his fingers, the young captain started to count.

"A boxing glove on springs, sticky gluey stuff, a huuuuuge frying-pan, flash bombs and pepper spray, knives and forks that fly in the air...is Sanji trying to kill me or som-BOSHI!"  
Gleaming with excitement at the retrieval of his beloved hat, Luffy set to work on opening the fridge.

Grasping the handle in his hands, his face twisted into a large grin of triumph that soon fell into confusion as he collapsed to the floor, his arms stretching as he held onto the handle in hungry desperation.  
'Aaaaahhhhh, I'm so sleepy...nande?' Luffy thought hazily as he slid slowly to the kitchen floor.

Chink.

"Huh?"

_Chink chink. _

Luffy's hands were indeed wrapped around the handle, but what was wrapped around the _handle_ was a Devil Fruit user's worst nightmare.

Seastone.

"Sanjiiiiiiii~! This is not fair you shitty cook! I need MEAT!", the young captain sobbed. "So hungry ~ ..."

_Clip, clop, clip, clop._

"Luffy!...what are yo - "

"MEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAATTTTTT!"

"IYEEEEEEEEEE!"

Driven by the knowledge **-(yes you heard it: Luffy has knowledge :P)- **that he would not indulge in a juicy feast of protein that night, he set his eyes on his poor little doctor, who just so happened to be a reindeer, and set about chasing down his 'prey'.

"Luffy, m-matte! It's me Chopper! You know, yo-KYAAAAAAA! DON'T EAT MY LEG!"

"Sith shtill meat! Le me eath mphyou!" -(Translation: Sit still meat! Let me eat you! ;D)- UMMMEEEEE! So tasty!"

"I AM NOT A MEAL!" Changing into his Human-Point, Chopper raised his arms above his head and roared at his captain.

"AAAAAAHHHH! A MONST- er? Oh, it's only you Chopper. Geez you had me scared!"

Laughing at the situation, Luffy bounced up from the floor and scratched the back of his head as he looked at his doctor in a sheepish fashion. Chopper, now in his human/hybrid form, was not at all amused at the rubberman mistaking him as his next meal, and was stood with arms crossed over his little chest, a hoof tapping the floorboards in frustration.

"Luffy...you were trying to get some more meat again weren't you?"

"No", he replied. This was of course a blatant lie as his head was turned to the side, sweat dripping from his forehead in a comical fashion and his lips were pursed as he whistled a distracting, and somewhat aweful tune as he tried -(and failed)- to relay Chopper's attention onto something more interesting than his own misdeeds.  
Sighing, the little doctor decided to once again give his crewmate a lecture on healthy eating.

"Luffy, I already warned you about how much meat you consume in a day. The amount you eat every 24 hours is much more than the normal amount of protein that a human needs in his or her diet. Just because you're a rubberman doesn't mean you ca-"

"STUPID FRIDGE! GIVE ME MEEEEEAAAAAT!"

"LUFFY YOU BAKA! LET GO OF THE HANDLE OR SANJI WILL DEFINITELY KILL YOU!"

Grabbing a hold of Luffy's vest, Chopper began tugging on the fabric in the hopes of prying the starving rubberman off of the fridge, and with the help of the Seastone-encrusted handle, Luffy fell backwards in fatigue and landed on the poor little reindeer.

"Oh I forgot", Luffy said in a tangle of his own limbs on the floor. "Chopper, what're you doing up at this time?"

Receiving no reply, Luffy looked up from his seat on the floor -(now free of any entanglement)- and was surprised to see his crewmate shaking like a leaf.

"Daijoubu Chopper? What's wrong?"

Startled, the doctor looked up at Luffy and revealed eyes that shone with unshed tears.  
He sniffed as he tried to come up with a valid excuse for his watery eyes.

"W-what're you talking about Luffy," he said as he gave a trembling smile. "I'm perfectly f-fin-"

"Chopper." The young reindeer jumped as a large hand was laid on his shoulder. Looking up, he saw Luffy wearing a warm smile, yet his eyes held an unwavering intensity that broke the last of Chopper's will to deny telling his captain anything.  
With a cry, he launched himself at Luffy, clung to the soft material of his shirt and sobbed out his harrowing dream.

"I...I-I was back with my herd," he started. "And they started hitting me with their antlers, again and again. I'd been knocked unconscious, and then I woke up in my human form right next to Drum Village. The villagers-"  
He interrupted himself with a hiccup whilst trying to quell his crying, with no obvious success.

"They started throwing weapons and shooting at you didn't they?"

A nod was his reply.  
"But then...then Doctor Hiruluk appeared and he s-said that I was nothing special. That I should never have been born into this world, because if I hadn't, he would still be alive."

Silence reigned between the two. Not the silence where no one knows what to say, but there was a companionable air surrounding the two, which only intensified when Luffy squeezed his doctor's furry shoulders in silent understanding and comfort.

"Gomen Luffy. I didn't mean to-"

"Na Chopper. Did I ever tell you about Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer?"

Raising his head in confusion so as to look at his elder, he was rewarded with a huge, toothy grin beaming down at him.

"Rudolph? No I don't think you've ever told us about him. Who is he anyway?" inquired the curious little creature.

"Aa, it's a story Grandpa used to tell me and Ace when we were kids. I think we'd better sit down for this," he said as he crossed his legs and sat on the cold floorboards with a slight _plonk!_  
Chopper followed suit.

"Now long ago, when the first humans began to sail Grand Line, there was the Famous Pirate Claus. Even though he was a pirate, he was loved by everybody. Know why?"

"Ano..." Chopper's face scrunched up in concentration, but relaxed as he shrugged his shoulders in defeat.

"As he was a pirate, he did steal and thieve, but only from fellow pirates and the occasional marine ships. And instead of keeping all the gold for himself, he used it to pay his the elves for their services."

"Elves? What were they used for?"

"Grandpa told us that elves were magical"- Chopper gasped excitedly- "and that they could make anything out of any material really, REALLY fast. Pirate ships out of wood, toys with really cool designs and a load of other cool stuff! So, he paid the elves with mounds of chocolate and sweets of all kinds, which he'd buy with the stolen money along with needed materials and-"

"Ano, Luffy."

"Eh? What's wrong Chopper?"  
The reindeer's head was bent down, looking at the ground so as not to show the embarassment that flamed across his fur to his captain at asking such a simple and ridiculous-(he thought)- question.

"Well, you said before that Pirate Claus delivered all of those presents to every child in the world. How could he do that if there were, THOUSANDS of gifts to give, in only one night?"

"Simple; he had flying reindeer," Luffy replied, not at all fazed at how ridiculous his answer sounded to a man, or in this case reindeer, of science.

"H-How-"

"See, it wasn't just the elves and Claus that lived on the island. Reindeer, like you, also lived there. When Claus had first arrived on the island, the WHOLE area was covered with herds of reindeer, ones that could speak just like you Chopper, and awesome little houses where the elves lived were all around the island too."

"Sugoi!"

"However…"

Luffy's face grew serious and grim in a comical fashion. "The elves and the reindeer were constantly fighting for land, food and meat on the island, and it always led to fights breaking out between the two; they just couldn't get along."

"But, if they were constantly fighting, how did Pirate Claus carry out his idea? Having helpers that are constantly fighting one another would get you nowhere!" The young doctor emphasized his comment by waving his arms exuberantly.

"This is where it gets really funny!"

"Ehh?"

Luffy was now sporting a large grin on his face that was nearly splitting his face in two.

"You know when Zoro does something to piss Nami off and she starts saying a load of stuff that makes him uncomfortable?"

"You mean guilt treatment?" Chopper answered. "Yeah Robin explained that to me when Nami had a go at Zoro for drinking all the sake and said that he now owed her like a Million Berries or something."

"Yeah, yeah that. Anyway, Pirate Claus decided the feud had lasted long enough and offered them a choice; carry on with your useless feuding, or join me in helping the world. You should all be ashamed of yourselves; instead of sorting this out like adults, you act like children fighting over a toy! What kind of examples are you setting for your own children other than futile fighting!? "

"Woah."

"Yep, and thanks to his super-cool speech, many of the elves and reindeer began to see how STUUUPID they'd been acting; I mean I could understand why they would fight over meat…mmmm."

"LUFFY!"

Snapping out of his meaty reverie, Luffy continued his winter tale.

"As I said, thanks to Pirate Claus peace finally fell over the island; the elves helped Claus build toys for the children of the world, and the reindeer pulled the sleigh around the world all in one night with Claus dropping off presents at ever house; everyone was happy."

A little blue nose scrunched up in confusion. "But who's Rudolph? You still haven't explained how he fits the picture."

"Oh yeah, forgot about him," Luffy answered nonchalantly whilst picking his nose.

"Well? Who is he!?" The little doctor was practically bouncing up and down with anticipation written across his face.

"Well like you Chopper, he was born a little more…unique. You see Chopper he was born with a-

_Poke._

"Big."

_Poke._

"Red."

_Poke._

"Nose!"

Chopper stared in awe. "Someone was born like…me?"

"Yep, and like you, he was picked on by everyone; no one accepted him and he was cast out."

"…It's not a nice feeling to have."

"No it's not, but you know…it's thanks to his nose that everyone began to respect and accept him."

"Ehh?" Large brown eyes stared up at the rubberman, who was sporting an unusual poker face. "Chopper, I said that Pirate Claus lived on an island in the North Blue right?"

"Well, you said he lived on an island, but you weren't specific about WHERE the island was", Chopper replied.  
"I didn't? Well now I am; Pirate Claus lived on an island in the North Blue, and I think that Nami said North Blue is really, REALLY cold with snow nearly all year round right?"

"Yeah I remember."

"Well, one year a HUUUUUUUGE blizzard came outta nowhere! The whole island was covered in snow, the winds were too strong for the sleigh to handle, and even IF Claus could get the sleigh to fly, he wouldn't be able to see where he was going; he was literally blind!"

"Well what did they do!?" Chopper was so shocked; surely Claus would have found a way to give the children their presents…or was this his year of failure?

"And that's where Rudolph comes in!"

"Ehh? How could he help? All he had was a red nose."

"Ahh, now you see there's a difference between your nose and his nose." Luffy tapped his own nose to emphasize his point. "Yours is just a normal blue nose right? Well Rudolph's was a bit different, seeing as his…LIT UP!"

"AHHHHH! SUGOOOOOI! Did it really?! You're not lying to me are yo-LUFFY!"

"It lights up…so coooool~!"

Bonk!

Now sporting a large bump on the side of his head, Luffy continued his story. "So yeah, thanks to the big blizzard, Claus was stuck on the island and couldn't deliver his toys to the children; he was stuck good. The wind had died down enough so he was able to lift the sleigh again, but he was still as blind as Sanji is when he sees Nami in a bikini-thingy…which is really funny by the way", Luffy added as he grinned widely, reminiscing the day his cook was blinded by their fiery navigator.

"That was really funny, but I seriously thought Sanji was gonna die from all the blood loss, that idiot", Chopper piped in.

"I was just worried I wouldn't get any lunch!"

"…Just continue the story Luffy."

"Right! So Santa was completely stuck on what to do; he couldn't see anything at all 'cause the blizzard was so thick. Then he remembered Rudolph, the little reindeer who had the bright red nose."

Wide brown eyes stared at Luffy. "What did Santa do?"

"In front of EVERYONE who lived on the island, he walked right up to Rudolph and asked; 'Rudolph with your nose so bright, won't you guide my sleigh tonight?'

"Everyone?!"

"Yep. Santa knew Rudolph had been teased and bullied 'cause of his nose, so he proved to all the bullies that Rudolph's nose wasn't a burden; it was a _gift." _Chopper's mouth hung open in awe and shock of the story.

"So, Rudolph helped save Christmas?"

Luffy grinned. "Yep. Thanks to his nose, Santa was able to see through the blizzard and avoid stuff like icebergs, mountains…buildings. Y'know, the stuff that can kill you if you crash into it."

"…Rudolph wasn't seen as a-a f-freak anymore after that?"

"Nope. He was a hero, to everyone on the island and around the world, like you are to use Chopper."

Chopper's head rose sharply to look at his captain, who wore an unnaturally serious look on his face, something that unnerved the young doctor. He swallowed dryly and chuckled nervously.

"What do you mean Luffy? I'm no hero-"

"Don't you _dare_ deny what I said Chopper."

He stopped abruptly as his ears drooped and his eyes met his captain's.

Luffy smiled and placed his hand on the doctor's furry shoulder in comfort. "Without you as part of my crew, we wouldn't be complete. We rely on YOU to help us get better; you basically hold all of our lives in your hand-or hoof, whatever you wanna call it- and I wouldn't trust anyone else to treat me when I'm hurt."

"…You really trust me that much?" Chopper was stunned. Did they really have that much faith in him? Up until now, Chopper had always been weaker than those around him, which got him cast out of his own herd besides having a blue nose, and he'd been cast out by humans as well after eating the Hito Mito no Mi. He hadn't been accepted by anyone until Dr. Hiluluk and Dr. Kureha had taken him in and trained him. He hadn't trusted Luffy at ALL when he and co. had arrived at the island, so-

"Why?" Tears rolled down his little face as his internal walls crumbled and withered away, leaving his emotions raw with suppressed frustration and anguish after years of solitude. "Why do you trust me so much? I'm a nobody, I-"

"Cause you're my friend."

"You really m-mean that?"

"You know I'm a crappy liar Chopper; I only say the truth; we need you Doctor."

The doctor's hat was pulled down to hide his face beneath the shadow, yet the giant, watery smile couldn't be hidden from Luffy, who smiled widely at the doctor's gratitude.

"Yosh! I think it's time for bed; I'm freakin' knackered!"

Chopper laughed as he wiped away his happy tears and stood up. "Ah, I'm gonna go to bed too. I have to do some research on muscle tissues tomorrow, so up bright and early!" His little hoof pumped up into the air as an act of confidence, and a small internal fire burned in his eyes. Turning to Luffy, he smiled shyly.

"Thank you Luffy. Y'know, for cheering me up."

Luffy chuckled. "Well I don't like seeing any of my crew moping around; it's so depressing and I need a happy crew if we're gonna conquer the Grand Line!" Chopper smiled again as he turned and walked towards the door to leave.

"Oh." He stopped and turned back to Luffy, who looked back curiously. "What's wrong?"

"Aren't you coming?"

"O-oh! No no, not yet. I wanna stay up for a bit longer. Y'know feel the sea breeze, look across the sea…just wanna have a bit of me time."

"Oh well, alright then. G'night Luffy."

"Night Chopper."

Walking down the corridor, a huge warmth began to spread through the little doctor's chest as he grinned widely. _'__They accept me, they ACCEPT me!' _He was so happy; he finally had a FAMILY! Yeah he'd admit they were…eccentric and quirky in their own ways, but that's what made them even more special to him, besides the fact they accepted him as himself.

Looking out a little window on the corridor, Chopper saw a brightly shining star in the distance; Polaris, the North Star, which seemed to shine as bright as a noonday sun. Maybe it rejoiced from Chopper's inner peace and clear heart?

He smiled. _'__You were right Doctor, I DID find true friends.'_

**Meanwhile…**

"Now then, where were we you bastard fridge?"

**Fin.**

**A/N:  
WHEW! This took AGES to finish! First big One-shot I've ever done; 9 pages! :O  
I know it's not much compared to other fanfic writers, but I'm personally proud of myself for writing this :3 Hope you all enjoy this little one-shot. Reviews are much loved!  
No flames or hate please. Thank you. **


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